In February 2015, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) became the first standard-setting organization to regulate the calculation of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory royalties for standard-essential patents (SEPs). The IEEE made that transformative change with the encouragement and blessing of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The bylaw amendments aim to mitigate the risk of patent holdup and royalty stacking.
But the suggestion that SEP holders routinely extract supracompetitive royalties is disputed. In fact, the amendments broaden the binding provisions of IEEE’s fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory commitment; diminish the SEP holder’s ability to enforce its patent rights; and blindly lower the royalties that the SEP holder may charge a licensee.
In its business review letter, the Antitrust Division commended the bylaw amendments for addressing the risk of patent holdup and royalty stacking without analyzing whether those harms actually occur in the implementation of the IEEE’s standards. At the same time, the Antitrust Division ignored the countervailing concern that the bylaw amendments facilitate collusion among implementers to suppress the royalties they pay for SEPs.
On July 1st, Hudson Institute hosted J. Gregory Sidak for a conversation on current state of SEP regulation. Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth moderated the discussion.
At Sea Air Space 2025, Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Timothy A. Walton will discuss their findings with a panel of government and industry experts tasked with implementing these ideas.
The Hudson Institute Political Studies Policy Certificate Program gathers talented early career professionals for advanced study of American foreign and domestic policy and national security, led by policy experts and experienced government officials.
Murray will join Hudson Senior Fellow Dr. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs for a discussion on his conversations in the Middle East, the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, and the historical and moral dimensions of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorists who seek to destroy it.
In this episode, experts discuss what regional powers such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, and Qatar are doing in the Horn, their strategies and motivations, and the impact they might have on the region.
